Cherrystones: Red Nails 2LP

After putting together several influential psych compilations, digger-turned-producer extraordinaire Gareth Goddard steps out with an album of original material. Though this isn’t his first excursion into original beats, Red Nails is the first under the Cherrystones moniker and finds Goddard venturing onto a very personal, very eclectic, and very dark sonic journey. The album is a mish-mash of styles ranging from distorted post-punk, mutated breaks, industrial noise, and dubbed-out psych, all with a healthy helping of moody Moog to set the mood. Check “Seven Levels Of Meditation” or “Honey’s Pot” for a heavy DJ Shadow/GLK style workout in drum breaks, while “Bruised Meats” takes it even further with distortion revved up to the max. Taking a totally different approach is “Dirty Washing” and “Queen Bee” – dark disco trips Psychemagik would be proud of. Other highlights include “Red Nails,” “Cold Soil,” and “Robots Kin.” 11 tracks in all.

• music label: Brutal Music 2012

reviewed by Von Bee 01/2012